Where the Fox was Tamed
by eqlny
Summary: Whimsical, cunning, smartly illogical: the Fox.


The gentle winds of autumn blow the stray hairs off of Yukari's somber face. The forest is alive in its death, crickets chirping in the afternoon and leaves changing color in their demise. A yellow sun, balancing on the edge of the horizon, dips under the ground. The daisies, dahlias all fall limp and await their slumber. The colors that were vivid from months past are now a dull sheen of what used to be. The trees, stripped of their leaves, are bare; naked.

Almost as naked as the youkai crawling out of the brush, throwing out her wild yellow hair. Two fluffy tails are all that covers her body, though not by much. The bush rustles as she kicks off the stray leaves that cling to her feet. "Hello." She cheerfully chirps, waving at Yukari with no sense of shame.

"Have you come to visit me?" Yukari quizzically raises an eyebrow at the strange fox-girl. "Fox, by what basis would you even think that I came here for you? We've known each other for about a minute now."

The fox youkai tilts her head at Yukari, her yellow eyes tracing over her new acquaintance. "You are here, and I am here. I think by that reasoning alone would be sufficient enough." Yukari is both entranced and annoyed by this whimsical girl. The more Yukari wants to know, the more irritated she feels.

"So," the Manipulator of Borders asks, "Are you a friend or an enemy?"

The Tricky Fox Girl quips, "Neither. I don't even know you." She grins cheerily.

"But you said that you thought I was coming to visit you!" Yukari impatiently huffs at the fox.

The young youkai claps enthusiastically. "Yes! That is absolutely correct!" She beams with childish energy, tiptoeing to directly look into Yukari's eyes. "But I don't know you yet. Yet being the key word~"

"Has anybody ever told you that you're a troublesome brat?" Yukari icily utters.

"No, never!" The fox responds with a bright smile. "It's because I'm all here alone, by myself! You're actually the first person I met." She puffs out her chest proudly, but all it does is flaunt her exposed body. Yukari's expression of doubt prompts her to reply again. "Honest! All the other foxes never spoke for some reason. Probably because they were _just_ foxes, most definitely not as clever as I!" She puffs out her chest again.

The border youkai opens a gap in the dimension, pulling out a white dress with a blue print in the front. "Alright, okay. I understand. But cover yourself up already! I don't need you flailing your naked body towards me." She throws the dress, draping the fox youkai entirely with the garment. "It's one of my old ones, but you can have it."

"An old what?" The fox speaks underneath the dress, muffling the voice. "I don't know what this thing is."

"For gods' sake!" Yukari grabs the dress abruptly, throwing it over the fox. Unkempt yellow hair pops out of the head-hole. Golden eyes shine eagerly at the border youkai.

"What's this, what's this?" She bounces up and down. Her arms don't fit through the sleeves, so it drags down with the rest of the dress. "Is it a new kind of cage? Are you going to eat me?" She giddily questions, not in the least bit worried at her well-being.

"No, no, no, no!" Yukari shakes her head with more conviction for every "no" she yells. "It's clothes, honey. It's a gift."

The fox creeps closer to Yukari. "A gift!" She clasps her hands in embarrassment, blushing. "I've never gotten a gift before! This is very exciting!" She does a little twirl, making the dress swoosh in the wind. The now-red sun gives the fox youkai a luminescent glow.

"Beautiful, but don't do that." Yukari pulls the dress down for the girl.

"Ah. I realize now that we're already at touching distance." She takes a minute to think, sitting very still. Then her curious, round eyes light up. "I understand now! You want to tame me."

Yukari crosses her arms in confusion. "Tame? What do you mean?"

"Domesticate, cooperate, make contact and then a contract~ " She recites this by song. "To tame is to establish ties." She reiterates with a goofy smile.

"Establish ties?" Yukari asks, intrigued by the discussion.

"Yes indeed~" she nods. "A wise fox once said that, which passed on for generations!"

"I see." Yukari broods, tracing the fox's face with her fingertips. The girl complies, but fidgets during the process. "But why tame?"

"Because! You're nothing to me." She mentions coolly. "You're nothing more than another resident of Gensokyo. I don't need you; I don't even need to talk to you! Nor do you have the right to care about me. And I, you." The fox's eyes glint in the setting sun. "But if you tame me, we'll need each other. We'll care for each other. Then you'll be my master, and I'll be your loyal companion. I will live for you, and you will support me. We will depend on each other."

"Clever fox, you. Have you always been a charming one?"

"Nope! Before, I've always been a fox! Only recently have I become what I am now! Whatever it is." The girl looks up at Yukari with expectant eyes. "I'm very useless right now! Between being a fox and a not-fox, I don't know how to hunt and I fear I may die of starvation soon! It's been a couple of days~"

"Attacking me with my sympathy, aren't you? Are you doing this on purpose?"

The golden eyes greet Yukari again. "Doing what?"

"Never mind. I will tame you."

"Yay~" The fox jumps up and down unsteadily.

She is tamed.

"You are tamed." Yukari declares. "Do you have a name?"

"No, but you'll give me one~" The fox says.

The border youkai pauses, thinking of a suitable name for the fox. "Ran." She unsteadily pauses. "Ran Yakumo. I'll bestow you my family name as well. You are Ran Yakumo, companion of Yukari Yakumo."

"Ran. I am Ran~" The fox, Ran, cheers her own name. The sun, now completely below the horizon, disappears and lets the dark of the night take over. "It is night. I shall take my leave."

"I will cry when you depart, my most cherished Yukari." Ran looks toward Yukari. Small tears line the fox's eyes.

"Why should you cry, fox?" Yukari asks Ran.

"Because I am tamed and my master must leave." Ran answers Yukari.

"Even though you said I should tame you?"

"Yes."

"Then why did you ask me to tame you?"

"Because I care for you."

"But you didn't before."

"I do now."

"Then why?"

"It's worth it."

"Is it?"

"You run the risk of crying if you let yourself be tamed, but you also run the risk of finding happiness."

"Dear Ran, what if I said you can come along with me?"

The fox's eyes shimmer in the darkness. "I would come along!"

"Then come along."

"Remember this truth, then!" Ran Yakumo, companion of Yukari Yakumo, announces. She tags along behind her master. "You are responsible for what you have tamed. Be it good or bad, you are now responsible for your fox~"

Yukari scoffs and grabs the young Ran's hand. The fox in turn squeezes back tightly, walking closer to the border youkai. A gap opens, but the girl does not jump back in fear. Her master is with her. Yet she sniffles a little. "What is wrong, dear fox?" Yukari soothes her companion.

"I am happy," replies Ran Yakumo.

"Ah, I see," replies Yukari Yakumo. They enter the gap. In the cold wind of autumn night, the forest was quiet in its death, not one cricket chirping. The blue moon draws attention to the silence of the trees. The daisies, dahlias disappear in the black night.

"Emotions are truly mysterious."


End file.
